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Anteater · 07-31-2013, 10:08 PM

The years following the dissolution of Crimson Glory proved to be fruitful, albeit unfocused ones, for Jon Drenning and the rest of the gang. The next few years passed quietly, spent mostly on two side project albums with other vocalists that served as continuations sonically of CG's psychedelic early 90's sound. Still, it was an inevitability that interest in reforming the band would eventually come to a head. In the winter of 1996, Drenning sought out Midnight, who was still in self-imposed exile and wouldn't have anything to do with anyone musically. Naturally, he refused to reform the group. After all, who needs music and a great voice when you can have drugs instead?

Thus, a new singer was required. After some searching around, the ideal candidate appeared in the form of wailmeister Wade Black, who was not only the ideal match for the band in terms of sheer vocal ability, but also in temperament. He was easy to work with, enthusiastic about joining the group and, most importantly, was very professional. This was followed by the return of original lineup guitarist Ben Jackson and the recruitment of Savatage drummer Steve Wachholz, completing Crimson Glory Mk. II and giving them the golden opportunity to take the metal world by storm once again.

Several delays, one stolen-and-then-re-recorded set of master tapes later....1999 arrived, and LP numero quatro Astronomica was released unto the world. Would it succeed where Strange & Beautiful had failed? Read below to find out!

Crimson Glory – Astronomica (1999)

1. March To Glory (3:30)
2. War Of The Worlds (4:09)
3. New World Machine (4:14)
4. Astronomica (4:59)
5. Edge Of Forever (5:46)
6. Touch Of The Sun (5:56)
7. Lucifer's Hammer (4:25)
8. The Other Side Of Midnight (4:29)
9. Cyber-Christ (5:13)
10. Cydonia (5:47)

After letting Midnight's unusual genre preferences rule over the songwriting for commercial swansong Strange & Beautiful back in 1991, Drenning and the rest of the boys took a hard look at the band's sonic legacy with Wade and unanimous agreed on one important point immediately: this was going to be a METAL record. In short, a logical yet modern followup to 1988's Transcendence.

One thing that becomes apparent as the militaristic pummelage of opening instrumental 'March To Glory' rolls into shore is there's a more symphonic nature to composition than what we've heard in the past. On top of that, the bass of Jeff Lords has never been more visible to the naked ear or palpable than it is on Astronomica, and its these impressions that'll lead you into 'War Of The Worlds', where you get an auditory gander of Wade's vocal blitzing for the first time: the guy's a bizarre yet fascinating hybrid between Bruce Dickinson and King Diamond, wielding a pleasant and throaty mid-range that suddenly shoots upwards into a glass-shattering howl when you least expect it. Very fun song though, a Maiden-esque stampede rife with apocalyptic imagery of black eyed angels that raze the world to ashes with fire. As my fellow bros might say..."righteous brah!"

It isn't until you hear a vocoded Wade snarl "I FEEL I'M BECOMING MECHANIZED" on the amazing 'New World Machine' that it begins to dawn on you at just how good this new lineup really is. Wade moves up and down between his registers the way some people ride elevators in a hotel as Lords' bass and Drennings' guitar crumble the Earth below in their frantic interplay. Quite the anthem really, and the record's first big high point.

Side A is actually pretty strong on the whole though: the title track in particular is a nice mid-tempo stomper with some Middle Eastern flourishes and a chorus on par with anything out of the classic Judas Priest or Saxon back catalog, along with being a fun mediation upon mankind itself: "World's spinning round in space / Lonely star without a face / Left by ourselves we trace / Our footsteps back / To Astronomica".

And then comes big highlight numbah three, a psychedelic thrasher called 'Touch The Sun'. More mystic mumbo jumbo lyrically, but when it all sounds THIS good, its hard not to get sucked in. Killer bassline, plus we get more of Wade's lower and clean mid-range throughout than in the past few cuts, giving the listener more appreciation of just how good a find this dude was: any metal band back in '99 would have been ecstatic with someone on this level at the mic. The album finishes out with a menacing ballad ('The Other Side Of Midnight') the scorching 'Cyber-Christ' which copulates the gloom of Alice In Chains with the classic CG sound and an atmospheric, spacious little metal number called 'Cydonia' that brings this musical chapter to a satisfying close. Drowning in mystery indeed!

So how's it stack up to the last three records you might ask? To put it lightly...well, it kicks major fuckin' ass! Although sonically quite different in many ways from both the self-titled and Transcendence, this is the album that should have followed in the early 90's as opposed to Strange & Beautiful. Not because S&B is a bad album, but because Astronomica blends some of the latter album's psychedelic tendencies far more effectively with the prog-power metal aesthetic that made the band huge to begin with. In particular, songs like 'Cyber-Christ' and 'New World Machine' are absolute monsters of rage & rhythm that rank right up there with any of the best songs from the first two albums, and the title track, 'Cydonia' and 'Touch The Sun' aren't slouches either!

This leads me to my last point: I can't say for sure whether or not Astronomica (or an album like it with Midnight on vox instead) would have saved the band from commercially collapsing back in 1991, but once you spend some quality time with it...you really can't help but wonder. It's a very strong album (maybe even on par with Transcendence) with a couple songs that might've done really well on radio back then, plus it sports a great bass-leaden production that gives the proceedings a real sense of urgency and drive.

In short, whether your a CG fan or not, Astronomica is a great late 90's metal album that deserves a place in your collection. Some of these songs won't hit you immediately, but give 'em time...they WILL.

So what happened after Astronomica? Lots of things. Everyone went their separate ways after a brief tour in 2000. Thankfully, and this time with a cleaned-up Midnight in tow, the band reunited fully in 2005. A new album was promised and great things seemed to be on the horizon. That being said, things never seem to go according to plan...(TBC for the last time)